So apes or eternal
mirrors?
Shobogenzo
It may also be possible that the births took place before or
after [each other]. �The great round mirror� is just a virtue of �the buddhas. �
Saying that this mirror �has no blurs on the inside or the outside� neither
describes an inside that depends on an outside, nor an outside blurred by an
inside. There being no face or back, �two individuals14 are able to see the
same. � Minds, and eyes, are alike. �Likeness� describes �a human being�
meeting �a human being. � In regard to images within, they have mind and
eyes, and they are able to see the same. In regard to images without, they
have mind and eyes, and they are able to see the same. Object and subject
which are manifest before us now are like each other within and like each
other without�they are neither I nor anyone else. Such is the meeting of
�two human beings,� and the likeness of �two human beings. � That person
is called �I,� and I am that person. �Minds, and eyes, are totally alike� means
mind and mind are alike, eyes and eyes are alike. The likeness is of minds
and of eyes; this means, for example, that the mind and the eyes of each are
alike. What does it mean for mind and mind to be alike? The Third Patri-
arch and the Sixth Patriarch. 15 What does it mean for eyes and eyes to be
alike? The eye of the truth being restricted by the eye itself. 16 The principle
that the master is expressing now is like this. This is how [Master Geyasata]
first pays his respects to Venerable Sa? ghanandi. Taking up his principle,
we should experience in practice the faces of buddhas and the faces of patri-
archs in the great round mirror, which is akin to the eternal mirror.
[134] The thirty-third patriarch, Zen Master Daikan, in former days
when toiling in the Dharma order on Obaizan, presented the following verse
to the ancestral master,17 by writing it on the wall:18
In the state of bodhi there is originally no tree,
Neither does the clear mirror need a stand.
Originally we do not have a single thing,
Where could dust and dirt exist?
[134] So then, we must study these words. People in the world call the
Founding Patriarch Daikan �the eternal buddha. � Zen Master Engo19 says,
�I bow my head to the ground before Sokei,20 the true eternal buddha. �21 So
remember [the words] with which the Founding Patriarch Daikan displays
the clear mirror: �Originally we do not have a single thing, At what place
could dust and dirt exist? � �The clear mirror needs no stand�: this contains
the lifeblood; we should strive [to understand it]. All [things in] the clear-
clear state22 are the clear mirror itself, and so we say, �When a clear head
comes, a clear head will do. �23 Because [the clear mirror] is beyond �any
place,� it does not have �any place. �24 Still more, throughout the universe in
the ten directions, does there remain one speck of dust that is not the mir-
ror? On the mirror itself, does there remain one speck of dust that is not the
mirror? Remember, the whole universe is not lands of dust;25 and so it is the
face of the eternal mirror.
[136] In the order of Zen Master Nangaku Daie26 a monk asks, �If a mir-
ror is cast into an image,27 to what place does its luster return? �
The master says, �Venerable monk, to what place have the features you
had before you became a monk departed? �
The monk says, �After the transformation, why does it not shine like a
mirror? �
The master says, �Even though it is not shining like a mirror, it cannot
delude others one bit. �28
[137] We are not sure of what these myriad images29 of the present are
made. But if we seek to know, the evidence that they are cast from a mirror
is just [here] in the words of the master. A mirror is neither of gold nor of
precious stone, neither of brightness nor of an image, but that it can be
instantly cast into an image is truly the ultimate investigation of a mirror. 30
�To what place does the luster return? � is the assertion that �the possibility31
of a mirror being cast into an image� is just �the possibility of a mirror being
cast into an image�; [it says,] for example, [that] an image returns to the
place of an image, and [that] casting can cast a mirror. 32 The words �Ven-
erable monk, to what place have the features you had before you became a
monk departed? � hold up a mirror to re? ect [the monk's] face. 33 At this time,
which momentary face34 might be �my own face�? The master says, �Even
though it is not shining like a mirror, it cannot delude others one bit. � This
means that it cannot shine like a mirror; and it cannot mislead others. Learn
in practice that the ocean's drying can never disclose the seabed! 35 Do not
break out, and do not move! At the same time, learn further in practice: there
is a principle of taking an image and casting a mirror. Just this moment is
miscellaneous bits of utter delusion,36 in hundred thousand myriads of shin-
ing mirror re? ections. 37
[139] Great Master Seppo Shinkaku38 on one occasion preaches to the
assembly, �If you want to understand this matter,39 my concrete state is like
one face of the eternal mirror. [When] a foreigner comes, a foreigner appears.
[When] a Chinese person comes, a Chinese person appears. �
Then Gensha40 steps out and asks, �If suddenly a clear mirror comes
along, what then? �
The master says, �The foreigner and the Chinese person both become
invisible. �
Gensha says, �I am not like that. �
Seppo says, �How is it in your case? �
Gensha says, �Please, master, you ask. �
Seppo says, �If suddenly a clear mirror comes along, how will it be then? �
Gensha says, �Smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces! �
[141] Now the meaning of Seppo's words �this matter� should be learned
in practice as �this is something ineffable. �41 Let us now try to learn Seppo's
eternal mirror. In the words �Like one face of the eternal mirror. . . ,� �one
face� means [the mirror's] borders have been eliminated forever and it is utterly
beyond inside and outside; it is the self as a pearl spinning in a bowl. 42 The
present �[when] a foreigner comes, the foreigner appears� is about one indi-
vidual redbeard. 43 �[When] a Chinese person comes, a Chinese person appears�:
although it has been said since the primordial chaos,44 since [the reign of]
Banko (Ch. Panku),45 that this �Chinese person� was created from the three
elements and five elements,46 in Seppo's words now a Chinese person whose
virtue is the eternal mirror has appeared. Because the present Chinese person
is not �a Chinese person,� �the Chinese person appears. � To Seppo's pres-
ent words �The foreigner and the Chinese person both become invisible,�
he might add, �and the mirror itself also becomes invisible. � Gensha's words
�Smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces� mean �the truth should be
expressed like that, but why, when I have just asked you to give me back a
concrete fragment, did you give me back a clear mirror? �
[142] In the age of the Yellow Emperor there are twelve mirrors. 47
According to the family legend, they are gifts from the heavens. Alternately,
they are said to have been given by [the sage] Kosei of Kodozan. 48 The rule
for using49 the twelve mirrors is to use one mirror every hour through the
twelve hours, and to use each mirror for a month through the twelve months,
[and again] to use the mirrors one by one, year by year through twelve years.
They say that the mirrors are Kosei's sutras. When he transmits them to the
Yellow Emperor, the twelve hours and so on are mirrors with which to illu-
minate the past and to illuminate the present. If the twelve hours were not
mirrors, how would it be possible to illuminate the past? If the twelve hours
were not mirrors, how would it be possible to illuminate the present? The
twelve hours, in other words, are twelve concrete sheets [of mirror], and the
twelve concrete sheets [of time] are twelve mirrors. The past and present are
what the twelve hours use. 50 [The legend] suggests this principle. Even though
it is a secular saying, it is in [the reality of] the twelve hours during which
�the Chinese person� appears.
[144] Kenen (Ch. Xuanyuan),51 the Yellow Emperor, crawls forward
on Kodo [Mountain] and asks Kosei about the Way. Thereupon, Kosei says,
�Mirrors are the origin of yin and yang; they regulate the body eternally.
There are naturally three mirrors: namely, the heavens, the earth, and human
beings. 52 These mirrors are without sight and without hearing. 53 They will
make your spirit quiet, so that your body will naturally become right. Assured
of quietness and of purity, your body will not be taxed and your spirit will
not be agitated. You will thus be able to live long. �54
[145] In former times, these three mirrors are used to regulate the whole
country, and to regulate the great order. One who is clear about this great
order is called the ruler of the heavens and the earth. A secular [book]55 says,
�The Emperor Taiso56 has treated human beings as a mirror, and thus he fully
illuminates [all problems of] peace and danger, reason and disorder. � He
uses one of the three mirrors. When we hear that he treats human beings as
a mirror, we think that by asking people of wide knowledge about the past
and present, he has been able to know when to employ and to discharge saints
and sages�as, for example, when he got Gicho (Ch. Weizheng) and got
Bogenrei (Ch. Fang Xuanling). 57 To understand it like this is not [truly to
understand] the principle which asserts that Emperor Taiso sees human beings
as a mirror. Seeing human beings as a mirror means seeing a mirror as a mir-
ror, seeing oneself as a mirror, seeing the five elements58 as a mirror, or see-
ing the five constant virtues59 as a mirror. When we watch the coming and
going of human beings, the coming has no traces and the going has no direc-
tion: we call this the principle of human beings as a mirror. 60 The myriad
diversity of sagacity and ineptitude is akin to astrological phenomena. Truly,
it may be as latitude and longitude. 61 It is the faces of people, the faces of
mirrors, the faces of the sun, and the faces of the moon. The vitality of the
five peaks and the vitality of the four great rivers passes through the world
on the way to purifying the four oceans, and this is the customary practice
of the mirror itself. 62 They say that Taiso's way is to fathom the universal
grid by understanding human beings. [But this] does not refer [only] to peo-
ple of wide knowledge.
[147] �Japan, since the age of the gods, has had three mirrors; together
with the sacred jewels and the sword they have been transmitted to the pres-
ent. 63 One mirror is in the Grand Shrines of Ise,64 one is in the Hinokuma
Shrine in Kii-no-kuni,65 and one is in the depository of the Imperial Court. �66
[148] Thus it is clear that every nation transmits and retains a mirror.
To possess the mirror is to possess the nation. People relate the legend that
these three mirrors were transmitted together with the divine throne and were
transmitted by the gods. Even so, the perfectly refined copper [of these mir-
rors] is also the transformation of yin and yang. 67 It may be that [when] the
present comes, the present appears [in them], and [when] the past comes,
the past appears [in them]. [Mirrors] that thus illuminate the past and pres-
ent may be eternal mirrors. Seppo's point might also be expressed, �[When]
a Korean comes, a Korean appears; [when] a Japanese comes, a Japanese
appears. � Or, �[When] a god comes, a god appears; [when] a human being
comes, a human being appears. � We learn appearance-and-coming like this,
in practice, but we have not now recognized the substance and details of this
appearance: we only meet directly with appearance itself. We should not
always learn that coming-and-appearance is [a matter of] recognition or [a
matter of] understanding. Is the point here that a foreigner coming is a for-
eigner appearing? [No,] a foreigner coming should be an instance of a for-
eigner coming. A foreigner appearing should be an instance of a foreigner
appearing. The coming is not for the sake of appearing. Although the eternal
mirror is [just] the eternal mirror, there should be such learning in practice.
[149] Gensha steps out and asks, �What if suddenly it meets the com-
ing of a clear mirror? �68 We should study and clarify these words. What
might be the scale of the expression of this word �clear�? In these words,
the �coming� is not necessarily that of �a foreigner� or of �a Chinese per-
son. � This is the clear mirror, which [Gensha] says can never be realized as
�a foreigner� or as �a Chinese person. � Though �a clear mirror coming� is
a �clear mirror coming,� it never makes a duality. 69 Though there is no dual-
ity, the eternal mirror is still the eternal mirror, and the clear mirror is still
the clear mirror. Testimony to the existence of [both] the eternal mirror and
the clear mirror has been expressed directly in the words of Seppo and Gen-
sha. We should see this as the Buddha's truth of essence-and-form. We should
recognize that Gensha's present talk of the clear mirror coming is totally
penetrating,70 and we should recognize that it is brilliant in all aspects. 71 It
may be that in his encounters with human beings, [Gensha] directly mani-
fests [himself], and that in manifesting directness he can reach others. So
should we see the clear of the clear mirror and the eternal of the eternal mir-
ror, as the same, or should we see them as different? Is there eternity in the
clear mirror, or not? Is there clarity in the eternal mirror, or not? Do not
understand from the words �eternal mirror� that it must necessarily be clear.
The important point is that �I am like that, and you are also like that. � We
should practice without delay, polishing the fact that �all the patriarchs of
India were also like that. �72 An ancestral master's expression of the truth73
says that, for the eternal mirror, there is polishing. Might the same be true
for the clear mirror? What [do you say]? There must be learning in practice
that widely covers the teachings of all the buddhas and all the patriarchs.
[151] Seppo's words , �The fore igner and the Ch inese person bo th
become invisible� mean that the foreigner and the Chinese person, when it
is the clear mirror's moment, are �both invisible. � What is the meaning of
this principle of �both being invisible�? That the foreigner and the Chinese
person have already come-and-appeared does not hinder the eternal mirror,
so why should they now �both be invisible�? In the case of the eternal mir-
ror, �[when] a foreigner comes a foreigner appears,� and �[when] a Chinese
person comes a Chinese person appears,� but �the coming of the clear mir-
ror� is naturally �the coming of the clear mirror� itself; therefore the foreigner
and the Chinese person re? ected in the eternal mirror are �both invisible. �74
So even in Seppo's words there is one face of the eternal mirror and one face
of the clear mirror. 75 We should definitely confirm the principle that, just at
the moment of �the clear mirror coming,� [the clear mirror] cannot hinder the
foreigner and the Chinese person re? ected in the eternal mirror. 76 [Seppo's]
present assertion, about the eternal mirror, that �[When] a foreigner comes a
foreigner appears,� and �[When] a Chinese person comes a Chinese person
appears,� does not say that [the foreigner and the Chinese person] come-and-
appear �on the eternal mirror,� does not say that they come-and-appear �in
the eternal mirror,� does not say that they come-and-appear �on the exterior
of the eternal mirror,� and does not say that they come-and-appear �in the
same state as the eternal mirror. � We should listen to his words. At the moment
when the foreigner and the Chinese person come-and-appear, the eternal mir-
ror is actually making the foreigner and the Chinese person come. To insist
that even when �the foreigner and the Chinese person are both invisible,� the
mirror will remain, is to be blind to appearance and to be remiss with regard
to coming. To call it absurd would not be going far enough.
[153] Then Gensha says, �I am not like that. � Seppo says, �How is it in
your case? � Gensha says, �Please, master, you ask. � We should not idly pass
over the words �Please, master, you ask� spoken now by Gensha. Without
father and son having thrown themselves into the moment, how could the
coming of the master's question, and the requesting of the master's ques-
tion, be like this? When [someone] requests the master's question, it may be
that �someone ineffable�77 has already understood78 decisively the state in
which the question is asked. While the state of the questioner is already thun-
dering, there is no place of escape.
[154] Seppo says, �If suddenly a clear mirror comes along, how will it
be then? � This question is one eternal mirror which father and son are mas-
tering together.
[155] Gensha says, �Smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces! � These
words mean smashed into hundred thousand myriads of bits and pieces. What
he calls �the moment,79 when suddenly a clear mirror comes along,� is
�smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces! � That which is able to experience
the state of �smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces� may be the clear mir-
ror. When the clear mirror is made to express itself, [the expression] may be
�smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces. � Therefore, the place where smashed
bits and pieces are dangling is the clear mirror. Do not take the narrow view
that formerly there was a moment of not yet being smashed to bits and pieces
and that latterly there may be a moment of no longer being smashed to bits
and pieces. [The expression] is simply �smashed into hundreds of bits and
pieces! � Confrontation with the hundreds of smashed bits and pieces is a soli-
tary and steep unity. 80 This being so, does this �smashed into hundreds of bits
and pieces� describe the eternal mirror, or does it describe the clear mirror? �
I would like to ask further for words of transformation. 81 At the same time,
it neither describes the eternal mirror nor describes the clear mirror: though
[hitherto] we have been able to ask about the eternal mirror and the clear mir-
ror, when we discuss Gensha's words, might it be that what is manifesting
itself before us as only sand, pebbles, fences, and walls has become the tip
of a tongue, and thus �smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces�? What form
does �smashing� take? Eternal blue depths; the moon in space.
[157] Great Master Shinkaku of Seppo Mountain and Zen Master Enen
of Sanshoin Temple82 are walking along when they see a group of apes. There-
upon Seppo says, �These apes are each backed with one eternal mirror. �83
[157] We must diligently learn these words in practice. �Ape� means
monkey. 84 How are the apes that Seppo sees? We should ask questions like
this, and make effort further, not noticing the passing of kalpas. �Each is
backed with one eternal mirror�: though the eternal mirror is the face of
Buddhist patriarchs, at the same time, the eternal mirror, even in the ascen-
dant state, is the eternal mirror. That it backs each individual ape does not
mean that there are big mirrors and small mirrors according to individual
differences; it is �one eternal mirror. � As to the meaning of �backed,� for
example we say that a painted image of a buddha is �backed� with what we
stick behind it. When the backs of apes are backed, they are backed with
the eternal mirror. �What kind of paste could have been used? �85 To speak
tentatively, the backs of monkeys might be backed with the eternal mirror.
Is the back of the eternal mirror backed with monkeys? The back of the eter-
nal mirror is backed with the eternal mirror, and the backs of monkeys are
backed with monkeys. The words that �each back has one face�86 are never
an empty teaching: they are the truth expressed as the truth should be
expressed.
So apes or eternal mirrors? Ultimately, what can we say? Are we
ourselves originally apes? Or are we other than apes? Who can we ask?
Whether we are apes is beyond our knowledge and beyond the knowledge
of others. Whether we are ourselves is beyond [intellectual] groping.
[159] Sansho says, �It has been nameless for successive kalpas. Why
would you express it as the eternal mirror? � This is a mirror, a concrete
instance, with which Sansho has certified his realization of the eternal mir-
ror. �For successive kalpas� means before a mind or a moment of con-
sciousness has ever appeared; it means the inside of a kalpa not having shown
its head. �Nameless� describes �the successive kalpas'�sun-faces, moon-
faces, and eternal mirror-faces; and describes the face of the clear mirror.
When �the nameless� is really �the nameless,� the �successive kalpas� are
never �successive kalpas. � Given that �the successive kalpas� are not �suc-
cessive kalpas,� Sansho's expression cannot be an expression of the truth.
Instead, �before a moment of consciousness has ever appeared� means today.
We should train and polish without letting today pass in vain. Frankly, though
the fame of this �nameless for successive kalpas� is heard on high, it expresses
the eternal mirror as what? A dragon's head with a snake's tail! 87
[161] Seppo might now say to Sansho, �The eternal mirror! The eter-
nal mirror! � Seppo does not say that; what he says further is, �A ? aw has
appeared,� or in other words, �a scratch has emerged. �88 We are prone to
think �how could a ? aw appear on the eternal mirror? � At the same time, [in
saying that] the eternal mirror has borne a ? aw [Seppo] may be calling the
expression �It has been nameless for successive kalpas� a ? aw. The eternal
mirror described by �a ? aw has appeared� is the total eternal mirror. San-
sho has not got out of the cave of a ? aw appearing on the eternal mirror, and
so the understanding which he has expressed is utterly a ? aw on the eternal
mirror. This being so, we learn in practice that ? aws appear even on the eter-
nal mirror and that even [mirrors] on which ? aws have appeared are the eter-
nal mirror; this is learning the eternal mirror in practice.
[162] Sansho says, �What is so deadly urgent that you are not conscious
of the story? �89 The import of these words is �why [are you in] such a deadly
hurry? � We should consider in detail and learn in practice whether this �deadly
emergency� is [a matter of] today or tomorrow, the self or the external world,
the whole universe in ten directions or [a concrete place] inside the great
kingdom of Tang? 90 As to the meaning of �story� in the words �You are not
conscious of the story,� there are stories that have continued to be told, there
are stories that have never been told, and there are stories that have already
been told completely. Now, the truths which are in �the story� are being real-
ized. Has the story itself, for example, realized the truth together with the
earth and all sentient beings? 91 It is never restored brocade. 92 Therefore it is
�not conscious�; it is the �nonconsciousness� of �the man facing the royal
personage�;93 it is being face-to-face without consciousness of each other.
It is not that there are no stories; it is just that the concrete situation is �beyond
consciousness. � �Nonconsciousness� is red mind in every situation94 and,
further, not-seeing with total clarity. 95
[163] Seppo says, �It is the old monk's mistake. � Sometimes people say
these words meaning �I expressed myself badly,� but [the words] need not
be understood like that. �The old monk� means the old man who is master
in his house;96 that is to say, [someone] who solely learns in practice the old
monk himself, without learning anything else. Though he experiences a thou-
sand changes and ten thousand transformations, heads of gods and faces of
demons, what he learns in practice is just the old monk's one move. 97 Though
he appears as a buddha and appears as a patriarch, at every moment and for
ten thousand years, what he learns in practice is just the old monk's one
move. �Mistakes� are his �abundant jobs as temple master. �98 Upon re? ec-
tion, Seppo is an outstanding member99 of [the order of] Tokusan, and San-
sho is an excellent disciple100 of Rinzai. Neither of the two venerable patri-
archs is of humble ancestry: [Seppo] is a distant descendant of Seigen and
[Sansho] is a distant descendant of Nangaku. 101 That they have been dwelling
in and retaining the eternal mirror is [evidenced] as described above. They
may be a criterion102 for students of later ages.
[165] Seppo preaches to the assembly, �[If] the world is ten feet103 wide,
the eternal mirror is ten feet wide. [If] the world is one foot104 wide, the eter-
nal mirror is one foot wide. �
At this, Gensha, pointing to the furnace, says, �Tell me then, how wide
is the furnace? �
Seppo says, �As wide as the eternal mirror. �
Gensha says, �The Old Master's heels have not landed on the ground. �105
[166] He calls ten feet the world; the world is ten feet. He sees one foot
as the world; the world is one foot. He describes the ten feet of the present,
and describes the one foot of the present, never any other unfamiliar foot or
tens of feet. When [people] study this story, they usually think of the width
of the world in terms of countless and boundless three-thousand-great-thou-
sandfold worlds or the limitless world of Dharma, but that is only like being
a small self and cursorily pointing to beyond the next village. In taking up
this world [here and now], we see it as ten feet. This is why Seppo says, �The
width of the eternal mirror is ten feet, and the width of the world is ten feet. �
When we learn these ten feet [here and now], we are able to see one con-
crete part of �the width of the world. � In other cases, when [people] hear the
words �eternal mirror� they envisage a sheet of thin ice. But it is not like
that. 106 The ten foot width [of the eternal mirror] is at one with the ten foot
width of the world, but are the form and content [of the eternal mirror and
the world] necessarily equal, and are they at one, when the world is limit-
less? 107 We should consider this diligently. The eternal mirror is never like
a pearl. Never hold views and opinions about whether it is bright or dull, and
never look at it as square or round. Even though �the whole universe in ten
directions is one bright pearl,�108 this cannot match �the eternal mirror. � So
the eternal mirror, regardless of the coming and the appearance of foreign-
ers or Chinese, is every thing [that happens] through the length and breadth
of [this state of] brilliance. 109 [But] it is not numerous and not large. �Width�
refers to this [real] quantity; it does not mean extent. �Width� means what
is expressed as two or three ordinary inches and counted, for example, in
sevens and eights. In calculation of the Buddha's truth, when we calculate
it in terms of great realization or nonrealization we clarify [a weight of] two
pounds or three pounds; and when we calculate it in terms of buddhas and
patriarchs we realize five things or ten things. 110 One unit of ten feet is the
width of the eternal mirror, and the width of the eternal mirror is one thing. 111
Gensha's words, �How wide is the furnace? � are an unconcealed expression
of the truth, which we should learn in practice for a thousand ages and for
ten thousand ages. To look now into the furnace is to look into [the furnace]
having become a person who is �Who? �112 When we are looking into the
furnace, it is not seven feet and it is not eight feet. This [story] is not a tale
of agitation and attachment; it is about the realization of a singular state in
a fresh situation�[as expressed,] for example, �What is it that comes like
this. �113 When the [meaning of] the words �what amount of width. . . � has
come to us, the �what amount [of width]� may be different from �how [wide]�
[as we have understood it] hitherto. 114 We must not doubt the fact of libera-
tion at this concrete place. We must hear in Gensha's words the fundamen-
tal point that the furnace is beyond aspects and dimensions. Do not idly allow
the one dumpling before you now to fall to the ground. Break it open! This
is the effort.
[170] Seppo says, �As wide as the eternal mirror. � We should quietly
re? ect on these words. Not wanting to say �the furnace is ten feet wide,� he
speaks like this. It is not true that saying ten feet would be the fit expression
of the truth whereas �as wide as the eternal mirror� is an unfit expression.
We should study actions that are �as wide as the eternal mirror. � Many peo-
ple have thought that not saying �the furnace is ten feet wide� was unfitness
of expression. They should diligently consider the independence of �width�;
they should re? ect that the eternal mirror is a concrete thing; and they should
not let action which is �reality� pass them by. 115 [Seppo] may be �manifest-
ing behavior in the way of the ancients, never falling into despondency. �116
[171] Gensha says , �The Old Man's heels have not landed on the
ground. �117 The point here is, whether we call him �the Old Man� or whether
we call him �the Old Master,� that is not always Seppo himself, because
Seppo may be �a [real] Old Man. � As to the meaning of �heels,� we should
ask just where they are. 118 We should master in practice just what �heels�
means. Does mastering [�heels�] in practice refer to the right Dharma-eye
treasury, or to space, or to the whole ground, or to the lifeblood? How many
[�heels�] are there? Is there one? Is there a half? Are there hundred thou-
sand myriads? We should do diligent study like this. �They have not landed
on the ground�: what kind of thing is �the ground�? 119 We provisionally call
the present earth �ground,� in conformance with the view of our own kind.
There are other kinds that see it, for instance, as �the Dharma gate to unthink-
able salvation,�120 and there is a kind that sees [the earth] as the buddhas'
many enactments of the truth. So in the case of the �ground� upon which
heels should land, what does [Gensha] see as the �ground�? Is the �ground�
the real state of being, or is it the real state of being without? Further, we
should ask again and again, and we should tell ourselves and tell others,
whether it is impossible for even an inch or so of what we generally call �the
ground� to exist within the great order? Is heels touching the ground the right
state, or is heels not landing on the ground the right state? What situation
leads [Gensha] to say �they have not landed on the ground? � When the earth
is without an inch of soil,121 [the words] �touching the ground� may be imma-
ture122 and [the words] �not having landed on the ground� may be immature.
This being so, �the Old Man's heels not having landed on the ground� is the
[very] exhalation and inhalation of the Old Man, the [very] moment of his
heels. 123
[174] Zen Master Koto124 of Kokutai-in Temple, on Kinkazan in the
Bushu125 district, the story goes, is asked by a monk, �What is the eternal
mirror like before being polished? �126
The master says, �The eternal mirror. �
The monk says, �What is it like after being polished? �
The master says, �The eternal mirror. �127
[174] Remember, the eternal mirror under discussion now has a time of
being polished, a time before being polished, and [a time] after being pol-
ished, but it is wholly the eternal mirror. This being so, when we are pol-
ishing, we are polishing the eternal mirror in its entirety. We do not polish
by mixing in mercury or anything else other than the eternal mirror. This is
neither polishing the self nor the self polishing; it is polishing the eternal
mirror. Before being polished the eternal mirror is not dull. Even if [people]
call it black, it can never be dull: it is the eternal mirror in its vivid state. In
general, we polish a mirror to make it into a mirror; we polish a tile to make
it into a mirror; we polish a tile to make it into a tile; and we polish a mir-
ror to make it into a tile. 128 There are [times when] we polish without mak-
ing anything; and there are [times when] it would be possible to make some-
thing, but we are unable to polish. 129 All equally are the traditional work of
Buddhist patriarchs.
[175] When Baso130 of Kozei,131 in former days, was learning in prac-
tice under Nangaku,132 Nangaku on one occasion intimately transmits to Baso
the mind-seal. This is the beginning of the beginning of �polishing a tile. �133
Baso has been living at Denpoin Temple, sitting constantly in zazen for a
matter of ten or so years. We can imagine what it is like in his thatched hut
on a rainy night. There is no mention of him letting up on a cold ? oor sealed
in by snow. Nangaku one day goes to Baso's hut, where Baso stands wait-
ing. Nangaku asks, �What are you doing these days? �
Baso says, �These days Doitsu just sits. �
Nangaku says, �What is the aim of sitting in zazen? �
Baso says, �The aim of sitting in zazen is to become buddha. �134
Nangaku promptly fetches a tile and polishes it on a rock near Baso's
hut.
Baso, on seeing this, asks, �What is the master doing? �
Nangaku says, �Polishing a tile. �
Baso says, �What is the use of polishing a tile? �
Nangaku says, �I am polishing it into a mirror. �135
Baso says, �How can polishing a tile make it into a mirror? �136
Nangaku says, �How can sitting in zazen make you into a buddha? �137
[178] For several hundred years, since ancient times, most people inter-
preting this story�great matter that it is�have thought that Nangaku was
simply spurring Baso on. That is not necessarily so. The actions of great
saints far transcend the states of common folk. Without the Dharma of pol-
ishing a tile, how could the great saints have any expedient method of teach-
ing people? The power to teach people is the bones and marrow of a Buddhist
patriarch. Although [Nangaku] has devised it, this [teaching method] is a
common tool. [Teaching methods] other than common tools and everyday
utensils are not transmitted in the house of Buddha. Further, the impression
on Baso is immediate. Clearly, the virtue authentically transmitted by the
Buddhist patriarchs is directness. Clearly, in truth, when polishing a tile
becomes a mirror, Baso becomes buddha. When Baso becomes buddha, Baso
immediately becomes Baso. When Baso becomes Baso, zazen immediately
becomes zazen. This is why the making of mirrors through the polishing of
tiles has been dwelled in and retained in the bones and marrow of eternal
buddhas; and, this being so, the eternal mirror exists having been made from
a tile. While we have been polishing this mirror�in the past also�it has
never been tainted. Tiles are not dirty; we just polish a tile as a tile. In this
state, the virtue of making a mirror is realized, and this is just the effort of
Buddhist patriarchs. If polishing a tile does not make a mirror, polishing a
mirror cannot make a mirror either. 138 Who can suppose that in this �mak-
ing� there is [both] �becoming� buddha and �making� a mirror? 139 Further,
to express a doubt, is it possible, when polishing the eternal mirror, to mis-
takenly think that the polishing is making a tile? The real state at the time
of polishing is, at other times, beyond comprehension. Nevertheless, because
Nangaku's words must exactly express the expression of the truth, it may
be, in conclusion, simply that polishing a tile makes a mirror. People today
also should try taking up the tiles of the present and polishing them, and they
will certainly become mirrors. If tiles did not become mirrors, people could
not become buddhas. If we despise tiles as lumps of mud, then we might
also despise people as lumps of mud. If people have mind, tiles must also
have mind. Who can recognize that there are mirrors in which, [when] tiles
come, tiles appear? And who can recognize that there are mirrors in which,
[when] mirrors come, mirrors appear?
Shobogenzo Kokyo
Preached to the assembly at Kannondori ko-
shohorinji, on the ninth day of the ninth
lunar month in the second year of Ninji. 140
---
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B2582_1 (biblio info) Chapter/Section 21
[Chapter Twenty-one]
Kankin
Reading Sutras
Translator 's Note: Kan means �to read� and kin means �sutras. � Many
Buddhist sects revere reading sutras, because they think that the Buddhist
truth is theory which can be understood through abstract explanation. They
think that we can understand Buddhism only by reading sutras. At the same
time, there are other sects who deny the value of reading sutras; they say
that because Buddhist truth is not a theoretical system, we cannot attain the
truth by reading sutras. Master Dogen took the middle way on the problem:
rather than deny the value of reading sutras, he said that reading sutras is
one way of finding out what Buddhist practice is. He did not believe, how-
ever, that we can get the truth by reading sutras; he did not think that recit-
ing sutras might exercise some mystical in? uence over religious life.
after [each other]. �The great round mirror� is just a virtue of �the buddhas. �
Saying that this mirror �has no blurs on the inside or the outside� neither
describes an inside that depends on an outside, nor an outside blurred by an
inside. There being no face or back, �two individuals14 are able to see the
same. � Minds, and eyes, are alike. �Likeness� describes �a human being�
meeting �a human being. � In regard to images within, they have mind and
eyes, and they are able to see the same. In regard to images without, they
have mind and eyes, and they are able to see the same. Object and subject
which are manifest before us now are like each other within and like each
other without�they are neither I nor anyone else. Such is the meeting of
�two human beings,� and the likeness of �two human beings. � That person
is called �I,� and I am that person. �Minds, and eyes, are totally alike� means
mind and mind are alike, eyes and eyes are alike. The likeness is of minds
and of eyes; this means, for example, that the mind and the eyes of each are
alike. What does it mean for mind and mind to be alike? The Third Patri-
arch and the Sixth Patriarch. 15 What does it mean for eyes and eyes to be
alike? The eye of the truth being restricted by the eye itself. 16 The principle
that the master is expressing now is like this. This is how [Master Geyasata]
first pays his respects to Venerable Sa? ghanandi. Taking up his principle,
we should experience in practice the faces of buddhas and the faces of patri-
archs in the great round mirror, which is akin to the eternal mirror.
[134] The thirty-third patriarch, Zen Master Daikan, in former days
when toiling in the Dharma order on Obaizan, presented the following verse
to the ancestral master,17 by writing it on the wall:18
In the state of bodhi there is originally no tree,
Neither does the clear mirror need a stand.
Originally we do not have a single thing,
Where could dust and dirt exist?
[134] So then, we must study these words. People in the world call the
Founding Patriarch Daikan �the eternal buddha. � Zen Master Engo19 says,
�I bow my head to the ground before Sokei,20 the true eternal buddha. �21 So
remember [the words] with which the Founding Patriarch Daikan displays
the clear mirror: �Originally we do not have a single thing, At what place
could dust and dirt exist? � �The clear mirror needs no stand�: this contains
the lifeblood; we should strive [to understand it]. All [things in] the clear-
clear state22 are the clear mirror itself, and so we say, �When a clear head
comes, a clear head will do. �23 Because [the clear mirror] is beyond �any
place,� it does not have �any place. �24 Still more, throughout the universe in
the ten directions, does there remain one speck of dust that is not the mir-
ror? On the mirror itself, does there remain one speck of dust that is not the
mirror? Remember, the whole universe is not lands of dust;25 and so it is the
face of the eternal mirror.
[136] In the order of Zen Master Nangaku Daie26 a monk asks, �If a mir-
ror is cast into an image,27 to what place does its luster return? �
The master says, �Venerable monk, to what place have the features you
had before you became a monk departed? �
The monk says, �After the transformation, why does it not shine like a
mirror? �
The master says, �Even though it is not shining like a mirror, it cannot
delude others one bit. �28
[137] We are not sure of what these myriad images29 of the present are
made. But if we seek to know, the evidence that they are cast from a mirror
is just [here] in the words of the master. A mirror is neither of gold nor of
precious stone, neither of brightness nor of an image, but that it can be
instantly cast into an image is truly the ultimate investigation of a mirror. 30
�To what place does the luster return? � is the assertion that �the possibility31
of a mirror being cast into an image� is just �the possibility of a mirror being
cast into an image�; [it says,] for example, [that] an image returns to the
place of an image, and [that] casting can cast a mirror. 32 The words �Ven-
erable monk, to what place have the features you had before you became a
monk departed? � hold up a mirror to re? ect [the monk's] face. 33 At this time,
which momentary face34 might be �my own face�? The master says, �Even
though it is not shining like a mirror, it cannot delude others one bit. � This
means that it cannot shine like a mirror; and it cannot mislead others. Learn
in practice that the ocean's drying can never disclose the seabed! 35 Do not
break out, and do not move! At the same time, learn further in practice: there
is a principle of taking an image and casting a mirror. Just this moment is
miscellaneous bits of utter delusion,36 in hundred thousand myriads of shin-
ing mirror re? ections. 37
[139] Great Master Seppo Shinkaku38 on one occasion preaches to the
assembly, �If you want to understand this matter,39 my concrete state is like
one face of the eternal mirror. [When] a foreigner comes, a foreigner appears.
[When] a Chinese person comes, a Chinese person appears. �
Then Gensha40 steps out and asks, �If suddenly a clear mirror comes
along, what then? �
The master says, �The foreigner and the Chinese person both become
invisible. �
Gensha says, �I am not like that. �
Seppo says, �How is it in your case? �
Gensha says, �Please, master, you ask. �
Seppo says, �If suddenly a clear mirror comes along, how will it be then? �
Gensha says, �Smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces! �
[141] Now the meaning of Seppo's words �this matter� should be learned
in practice as �this is something ineffable. �41 Let us now try to learn Seppo's
eternal mirror. In the words �Like one face of the eternal mirror. . . ,� �one
face� means [the mirror's] borders have been eliminated forever and it is utterly
beyond inside and outside; it is the self as a pearl spinning in a bowl. 42 The
present �[when] a foreigner comes, the foreigner appears� is about one indi-
vidual redbeard. 43 �[When] a Chinese person comes, a Chinese person appears�:
although it has been said since the primordial chaos,44 since [the reign of]
Banko (Ch. Panku),45 that this �Chinese person� was created from the three
elements and five elements,46 in Seppo's words now a Chinese person whose
virtue is the eternal mirror has appeared. Because the present Chinese person
is not �a Chinese person,� �the Chinese person appears. � To Seppo's pres-
ent words �The foreigner and the Chinese person both become invisible,�
he might add, �and the mirror itself also becomes invisible. � Gensha's words
�Smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces� mean �the truth should be
expressed like that, but why, when I have just asked you to give me back a
concrete fragment, did you give me back a clear mirror? �
[142] In the age of the Yellow Emperor there are twelve mirrors. 47
According to the family legend, they are gifts from the heavens. Alternately,
they are said to have been given by [the sage] Kosei of Kodozan. 48 The rule
for using49 the twelve mirrors is to use one mirror every hour through the
twelve hours, and to use each mirror for a month through the twelve months,
[and again] to use the mirrors one by one, year by year through twelve years.
They say that the mirrors are Kosei's sutras. When he transmits them to the
Yellow Emperor, the twelve hours and so on are mirrors with which to illu-
minate the past and to illuminate the present. If the twelve hours were not
mirrors, how would it be possible to illuminate the past? If the twelve hours
were not mirrors, how would it be possible to illuminate the present? The
twelve hours, in other words, are twelve concrete sheets [of mirror], and the
twelve concrete sheets [of time] are twelve mirrors. The past and present are
what the twelve hours use. 50 [The legend] suggests this principle. Even though
it is a secular saying, it is in [the reality of] the twelve hours during which
�the Chinese person� appears.
[144] Kenen (Ch. Xuanyuan),51 the Yellow Emperor, crawls forward
on Kodo [Mountain] and asks Kosei about the Way. Thereupon, Kosei says,
�Mirrors are the origin of yin and yang; they regulate the body eternally.
There are naturally three mirrors: namely, the heavens, the earth, and human
beings. 52 These mirrors are without sight and without hearing. 53 They will
make your spirit quiet, so that your body will naturally become right. Assured
of quietness and of purity, your body will not be taxed and your spirit will
not be agitated. You will thus be able to live long. �54
[145] In former times, these three mirrors are used to regulate the whole
country, and to regulate the great order. One who is clear about this great
order is called the ruler of the heavens and the earth. A secular [book]55 says,
�The Emperor Taiso56 has treated human beings as a mirror, and thus he fully
illuminates [all problems of] peace and danger, reason and disorder. � He
uses one of the three mirrors. When we hear that he treats human beings as
a mirror, we think that by asking people of wide knowledge about the past
and present, he has been able to know when to employ and to discharge saints
and sages�as, for example, when he got Gicho (Ch. Weizheng) and got
Bogenrei (Ch. Fang Xuanling). 57 To understand it like this is not [truly to
understand] the principle which asserts that Emperor Taiso sees human beings
as a mirror. Seeing human beings as a mirror means seeing a mirror as a mir-
ror, seeing oneself as a mirror, seeing the five elements58 as a mirror, or see-
ing the five constant virtues59 as a mirror. When we watch the coming and
going of human beings, the coming has no traces and the going has no direc-
tion: we call this the principle of human beings as a mirror. 60 The myriad
diversity of sagacity and ineptitude is akin to astrological phenomena. Truly,
it may be as latitude and longitude. 61 It is the faces of people, the faces of
mirrors, the faces of the sun, and the faces of the moon. The vitality of the
five peaks and the vitality of the four great rivers passes through the world
on the way to purifying the four oceans, and this is the customary practice
of the mirror itself. 62 They say that Taiso's way is to fathom the universal
grid by understanding human beings. [But this] does not refer [only] to peo-
ple of wide knowledge.
[147] �Japan, since the age of the gods, has had three mirrors; together
with the sacred jewels and the sword they have been transmitted to the pres-
ent. 63 One mirror is in the Grand Shrines of Ise,64 one is in the Hinokuma
Shrine in Kii-no-kuni,65 and one is in the depository of the Imperial Court. �66
[148] Thus it is clear that every nation transmits and retains a mirror.
To possess the mirror is to possess the nation. People relate the legend that
these three mirrors were transmitted together with the divine throne and were
transmitted by the gods. Even so, the perfectly refined copper [of these mir-
rors] is also the transformation of yin and yang. 67 It may be that [when] the
present comes, the present appears [in them], and [when] the past comes,
the past appears [in them]. [Mirrors] that thus illuminate the past and pres-
ent may be eternal mirrors. Seppo's point might also be expressed, �[When]
a Korean comes, a Korean appears; [when] a Japanese comes, a Japanese
appears. � Or, �[When] a god comes, a god appears; [when] a human being
comes, a human being appears. � We learn appearance-and-coming like this,
in practice, but we have not now recognized the substance and details of this
appearance: we only meet directly with appearance itself. We should not
always learn that coming-and-appearance is [a matter of] recognition or [a
matter of] understanding. Is the point here that a foreigner coming is a for-
eigner appearing? [No,] a foreigner coming should be an instance of a for-
eigner coming. A foreigner appearing should be an instance of a foreigner
appearing. The coming is not for the sake of appearing. Although the eternal
mirror is [just] the eternal mirror, there should be such learning in practice.
[149] Gensha steps out and asks, �What if suddenly it meets the com-
ing of a clear mirror? �68 We should study and clarify these words. What
might be the scale of the expression of this word �clear�? In these words,
the �coming� is not necessarily that of �a foreigner� or of �a Chinese per-
son. � This is the clear mirror, which [Gensha] says can never be realized as
�a foreigner� or as �a Chinese person. � Though �a clear mirror coming� is
a �clear mirror coming,� it never makes a duality. 69 Though there is no dual-
ity, the eternal mirror is still the eternal mirror, and the clear mirror is still
the clear mirror. Testimony to the existence of [both] the eternal mirror and
the clear mirror has been expressed directly in the words of Seppo and Gen-
sha. We should see this as the Buddha's truth of essence-and-form. We should
recognize that Gensha's present talk of the clear mirror coming is totally
penetrating,70 and we should recognize that it is brilliant in all aspects. 71 It
may be that in his encounters with human beings, [Gensha] directly mani-
fests [himself], and that in manifesting directness he can reach others. So
should we see the clear of the clear mirror and the eternal of the eternal mir-
ror, as the same, or should we see them as different? Is there eternity in the
clear mirror, or not? Is there clarity in the eternal mirror, or not? Do not
understand from the words �eternal mirror� that it must necessarily be clear.
The important point is that �I am like that, and you are also like that. � We
should practice without delay, polishing the fact that �all the patriarchs of
India were also like that. �72 An ancestral master's expression of the truth73
says that, for the eternal mirror, there is polishing. Might the same be true
for the clear mirror? What [do you say]? There must be learning in practice
that widely covers the teachings of all the buddhas and all the patriarchs.
[151] Seppo's words , �The fore igner and the Ch inese person bo th
become invisible� mean that the foreigner and the Chinese person, when it
is the clear mirror's moment, are �both invisible. � What is the meaning of
this principle of �both being invisible�? That the foreigner and the Chinese
person have already come-and-appeared does not hinder the eternal mirror,
so why should they now �both be invisible�? In the case of the eternal mir-
ror, �[when] a foreigner comes a foreigner appears,� and �[when] a Chinese
person comes a Chinese person appears,� but �the coming of the clear mir-
ror� is naturally �the coming of the clear mirror� itself; therefore the foreigner
and the Chinese person re? ected in the eternal mirror are �both invisible. �74
So even in Seppo's words there is one face of the eternal mirror and one face
of the clear mirror. 75 We should definitely confirm the principle that, just at
the moment of �the clear mirror coming,� [the clear mirror] cannot hinder the
foreigner and the Chinese person re? ected in the eternal mirror. 76 [Seppo's]
present assertion, about the eternal mirror, that �[When] a foreigner comes a
foreigner appears,� and �[When] a Chinese person comes a Chinese person
appears,� does not say that [the foreigner and the Chinese person] come-and-
appear �on the eternal mirror,� does not say that they come-and-appear �in
the eternal mirror,� does not say that they come-and-appear �on the exterior
of the eternal mirror,� and does not say that they come-and-appear �in the
same state as the eternal mirror. � We should listen to his words. At the moment
when the foreigner and the Chinese person come-and-appear, the eternal mir-
ror is actually making the foreigner and the Chinese person come. To insist
that even when �the foreigner and the Chinese person are both invisible,� the
mirror will remain, is to be blind to appearance and to be remiss with regard
to coming. To call it absurd would not be going far enough.
[153] Then Gensha says, �I am not like that. � Seppo says, �How is it in
your case? � Gensha says, �Please, master, you ask. � We should not idly pass
over the words �Please, master, you ask� spoken now by Gensha. Without
father and son having thrown themselves into the moment, how could the
coming of the master's question, and the requesting of the master's ques-
tion, be like this? When [someone] requests the master's question, it may be
that �someone ineffable�77 has already understood78 decisively the state in
which the question is asked. While the state of the questioner is already thun-
dering, there is no place of escape.
[154] Seppo says, �If suddenly a clear mirror comes along, how will it
be then? � This question is one eternal mirror which father and son are mas-
tering together.
[155] Gensha says, �Smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces! � These
words mean smashed into hundred thousand myriads of bits and pieces. What
he calls �the moment,79 when suddenly a clear mirror comes along,� is
�smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces! � That which is able to experience
the state of �smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces� may be the clear mir-
ror. When the clear mirror is made to express itself, [the expression] may be
�smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces. � Therefore, the place where smashed
bits and pieces are dangling is the clear mirror. Do not take the narrow view
that formerly there was a moment of not yet being smashed to bits and pieces
and that latterly there may be a moment of no longer being smashed to bits
and pieces. [The expression] is simply �smashed into hundreds of bits and
pieces! � Confrontation with the hundreds of smashed bits and pieces is a soli-
tary and steep unity. 80 This being so, does this �smashed into hundreds of bits
and pieces� describe the eternal mirror, or does it describe the clear mirror? �
I would like to ask further for words of transformation. 81 At the same time,
it neither describes the eternal mirror nor describes the clear mirror: though
[hitherto] we have been able to ask about the eternal mirror and the clear mir-
ror, when we discuss Gensha's words, might it be that what is manifesting
itself before us as only sand, pebbles, fences, and walls has become the tip
of a tongue, and thus �smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces�? What form
does �smashing� take? Eternal blue depths; the moon in space.
[157] Great Master Shinkaku of Seppo Mountain and Zen Master Enen
of Sanshoin Temple82 are walking along when they see a group of apes. There-
upon Seppo says, �These apes are each backed with one eternal mirror. �83
[157] We must diligently learn these words in practice. �Ape� means
monkey. 84 How are the apes that Seppo sees? We should ask questions like
this, and make effort further, not noticing the passing of kalpas. �Each is
backed with one eternal mirror�: though the eternal mirror is the face of
Buddhist patriarchs, at the same time, the eternal mirror, even in the ascen-
dant state, is the eternal mirror. That it backs each individual ape does not
mean that there are big mirrors and small mirrors according to individual
differences; it is �one eternal mirror. � As to the meaning of �backed,� for
example we say that a painted image of a buddha is �backed� with what we
stick behind it. When the backs of apes are backed, they are backed with
the eternal mirror. �What kind of paste could have been used? �85 To speak
tentatively, the backs of monkeys might be backed with the eternal mirror.
Is the back of the eternal mirror backed with monkeys? The back of the eter-
nal mirror is backed with the eternal mirror, and the backs of monkeys are
backed with monkeys. The words that �each back has one face�86 are never
an empty teaching: they are the truth expressed as the truth should be
expressed.
So apes or eternal mirrors? Ultimately, what can we say? Are we
ourselves originally apes? Or are we other than apes? Who can we ask?
Whether we are apes is beyond our knowledge and beyond the knowledge
of others. Whether we are ourselves is beyond [intellectual] groping.
[159] Sansho says, �It has been nameless for successive kalpas. Why
would you express it as the eternal mirror? � This is a mirror, a concrete
instance, with which Sansho has certified his realization of the eternal mir-
ror. �For successive kalpas� means before a mind or a moment of con-
sciousness has ever appeared; it means the inside of a kalpa not having shown
its head. �Nameless� describes �the successive kalpas'�sun-faces, moon-
faces, and eternal mirror-faces; and describes the face of the clear mirror.
When �the nameless� is really �the nameless,� the �successive kalpas� are
never �successive kalpas. � Given that �the successive kalpas� are not �suc-
cessive kalpas,� Sansho's expression cannot be an expression of the truth.
Instead, �before a moment of consciousness has ever appeared� means today.
We should train and polish without letting today pass in vain. Frankly, though
the fame of this �nameless for successive kalpas� is heard on high, it expresses
the eternal mirror as what? A dragon's head with a snake's tail! 87
[161] Seppo might now say to Sansho, �The eternal mirror! The eter-
nal mirror! � Seppo does not say that; what he says further is, �A ? aw has
appeared,� or in other words, �a scratch has emerged. �88 We are prone to
think �how could a ? aw appear on the eternal mirror? � At the same time, [in
saying that] the eternal mirror has borne a ? aw [Seppo] may be calling the
expression �It has been nameless for successive kalpas� a ? aw. The eternal
mirror described by �a ? aw has appeared� is the total eternal mirror. San-
sho has not got out of the cave of a ? aw appearing on the eternal mirror, and
so the understanding which he has expressed is utterly a ? aw on the eternal
mirror. This being so, we learn in practice that ? aws appear even on the eter-
nal mirror and that even [mirrors] on which ? aws have appeared are the eter-
nal mirror; this is learning the eternal mirror in practice.
[162] Sansho says, �What is so deadly urgent that you are not conscious
of the story? �89 The import of these words is �why [are you in] such a deadly
hurry? � We should consider in detail and learn in practice whether this �deadly
emergency� is [a matter of] today or tomorrow, the self or the external world,
the whole universe in ten directions or [a concrete place] inside the great
kingdom of Tang? 90 As to the meaning of �story� in the words �You are not
conscious of the story,� there are stories that have continued to be told, there
are stories that have never been told, and there are stories that have already
been told completely. Now, the truths which are in �the story� are being real-
ized. Has the story itself, for example, realized the truth together with the
earth and all sentient beings? 91 It is never restored brocade. 92 Therefore it is
�not conscious�; it is the �nonconsciousness� of �the man facing the royal
personage�;93 it is being face-to-face without consciousness of each other.
It is not that there are no stories; it is just that the concrete situation is �beyond
consciousness. � �Nonconsciousness� is red mind in every situation94 and,
further, not-seeing with total clarity. 95
[163] Seppo says, �It is the old monk's mistake. � Sometimes people say
these words meaning �I expressed myself badly,� but [the words] need not
be understood like that. �The old monk� means the old man who is master
in his house;96 that is to say, [someone] who solely learns in practice the old
monk himself, without learning anything else. Though he experiences a thou-
sand changes and ten thousand transformations, heads of gods and faces of
demons, what he learns in practice is just the old monk's one move. 97 Though
he appears as a buddha and appears as a patriarch, at every moment and for
ten thousand years, what he learns in practice is just the old monk's one
move. �Mistakes� are his �abundant jobs as temple master. �98 Upon re? ec-
tion, Seppo is an outstanding member99 of [the order of] Tokusan, and San-
sho is an excellent disciple100 of Rinzai. Neither of the two venerable patri-
archs is of humble ancestry: [Seppo] is a distant descendant of Seigen and
[Sansho] is a distant descendant of Nangaku. 101 That they have been dwelling
in and retaining the eternal mirror is [evidenced] as described above. They
may be a criterion102 for students of later ages.
[165] Seppo preaches to the assembly, �[If] the world is ten feet103 wide,
the eternal mirror is ten feet wide. [If] the world is one foot104 wide, the eter-
nal mirror is one foot wide. �
At this, Gensha, pointing to the furnace, says, �Tell me then, how wide
is the furnace? �
Seppo says, �As wide as the eternal mirror. �
Gensha says, �The Old Master's heels have not landed on the ground. �105
[166] He calls ten feet the world; the world is ten feet. He sees one foot
as the world; the world is one foot. He describes the ten feet of the present,
and describes the one foot of the present, never any other unfamiliar foot or
tens of feet. When [people] study this story, they usually think of the width
of the world in terms of countless and boundless three-thousand-great-thou-
sandfold worlds or the limitless world of Dharma, but that is only like being
a small self and cursorily pointing to beyond the next village. In taking up
this world [here and now], we see it as ten feet. This is why Seppo says, �The
width of the eternal mirror is ten feet, and the width of the world is ten feet. �
When we learn these ten feet [here and now], we are able to see one con-
crete part of �the width of the world. � In other cases, when [people] hear the
words �eternal mirror� they envisage a sheet of thin ice. But it is not like
that. 106 The ten foot width [of the eternal mirror] is at one with the ten foot
width of the world, but are the form and content [of the eternal mirror and
the world] necessarily equal, and are they at one, when the world is limit-
less? 107 We should consider this diligently. The eternal mirror is never like
a pearl. Never hold views and opinions about whether it is bright or dull, and
never look at it as square or round. Even though �the whole universe in ten
directions is one bright pearl,�108 this cannot match �the eternal mirror. � So
the eternal mirror, regardless of the coming and the appearance of foreign-
ers or Chinese, is every thing [that happens] through the length and breadth
of [this state of] brilliance. 109 [But] it is not numerous and not large. �Width�
refers to this [real] quantity; it does not mean extent. �Width� means what
is expressed as two or three ordinary inches and counted, for example, in
sevens and eights. In calculation of the Buddha's truth, when we calculate
it in terms of great realization or nonrealization we clarify [a weight of] two
pounds or three pounds; and when we calculate it in terms of buddhas and
patriarchs we realize five things or ten things. 110 One unit of ten feet is the
width of the eternal mirror, and the width of the eternal mirror is one thing. 111
Gensha's words, �How wide is the furnace? � are an unconcealed expression
of the truth, which we should learn in practice for a thousand ages and for
ten thousand ages. To look now into the furnace is to look into [the furnace]
having become a person who is �Who? �112 When we are looking into the
furnace, it is not seven feet and it is not eight feet. This [story] is not a tale
of agitation and attachment; it is about the realization of a singular state in
a fresh situation�[as expressed,] for example, �What is it that comes like
this. �113 When the [meaning of] the words �what amount of width. . . � has
come to us, the �what amount [of width]� may be different from �how [wide]�
[as we have understood it] hitherto. 114 We must not doubt the fact of libera-
tion at this concrete place. We must hear in Gensha's words the fundamen-
tal point that the furnace is beyond aspects and dimensions. Do not idly allow
the one dumpling before you now to fall to the ground. Break it open! This
is the effort.
[170] Seppo says, �As wide as the eternal mirror. � We should quietly
re? ect on these words. Not wanting to say �the furnace is ten feet wide,� he
speaks like this. It is not true that saying ten feet would be the fit expression
of the truth whereas �as wide as the eternal mirror� is an unfit expression.
We should study actions that are �as wide as the eternal mirror. � Many peo-
ple have thought that not saying �the furnace is ten feet wide� was unfitness
of expression. They should diligently consider the independence of �width�;
they should re? ect that the eternal mirror is a concrete thing; and they should
not let action which is �reality� pass them by. 115 [Seppo] may be �manifest-
ing behavior in the way of the ancients, never falling into despondency. �116
[171] Gensha says , �The Old Man's heels have not landed on the
ground. �117 The point here is, whether we call him �the Old Man� or whether
we call him �the Old Master,� that is not always Seppo himself, because
Seppo may be �a [real] Old Man. � As to the meaning of �heels,� we should
ask just where they are. 118 We should master in practice just what �heels�
means. Does mastering [�heels�] in practice refer to the right Dharma-eye
treasury, or to space, or to the whole ground, or to the lifeblood? How many
[�heels�] are there? Is there one? Is there a half? Are there hundred thou-
sand myriads? We should do diligent study like this. �They have not landed
on the ground�: what kind of thing is �the ground�? 119 We provisionally call
the present earth �ground,� in conformance with the view of our own kind.
There are other kinds that see it, for instance, as �the Dharma gate to unthink-
able salvation,�120 and there is a kind that sees [the earth] as the buddhas'
many enactments of the truth. So in the case of the �ground� upon which
heels should land, what does [Gensha] see as the �ground�? Is the �ground�
the real state of being, or is it the real state of being without? Further, we
should ask again and again, and we should tell ourselves and tell others,
whether it is impossible for even an inch or so of what we generally call �the
ground� to exist within the great order? Is heels touching the ground the right
state, or is heels not landing on the ground the right state? What situation
leads [Gensha] to say �they have not landed on the ground? � When the earth
is without an inch of soil,121 [the words] �touching the ground� may be imma-
ture122 and [the words] �not having landed on the ground� may be immature.
This being so, �the Old Man's heels not having landed on the ground� is the
[very] exhalation and inhalation of the Old Man, the [very] moment of his
heels. 123
[174] Zen Master Koto124 of Kokutai-in Temple, on Kinkazan in the
Bushu125 district, the story goes, is asked by a monk, �What is the eternal
mirror like before being polished? �126
The master says, �The eternal mirror. �
The monk says, �What is it like after being polished? �
The master says, �The eternal mirror. �127
[174] Remember, the eternal mirror under discussion now has a time of
being polished, a time before being polished, and [a time] after being pol-
ished, but it is wholly the eternal mirror. This being so, when we are pol-
ishing, we are polishing the eternal mirror in its entirety. We do not polish
by mixing in mercury or anything else other than the eternal mirror. This is
neither polishing the self nor the self polishing; it is polishing the eternal
mirror. Before being polished the eternal mirror is not dull. Even if [people]
call it black, it can never be dull: it is the eternal mirror in its vivid state. In
general, we polish a mirror to make it into a mirror; we polish a tile to make
it into a mirror; we polish a tile to make it into a tile; and we polish a mir-
ror to make it into a tile. 128 There are [times when] we polish without mak-
ing anything; and there are [times when] it would be possible to make some-
thing, but we are unable to polish. 129 All equally are the traditional work of
Buddhist patriarchs.
[175] When Baso130 of Kozei,131 in former days, was learning in prac-
tice under Nangaku,132 Nangaku on one occasion intimately transmits to Baso
the mind-seal. This is the beginning of the beginning of �polishing a tile. �133
Baso has been living at Denpoin Temple, sitting constantly in zazen for a
matter of ten or so years. We can imagine what it is like in his thatched hut
on a rainy night. There is no mention of him letting up on a cold ? oor sealed
in by snow. Nangaku one day goes to Baso's hut, where Baso stands wait-
ing. Nangaku asks, �What are you doing these days? �
Baso says, �These days Doitsu just sits. �
Nangaku says, �What is the aim of sitting in zazen? �
Baso says, �The aim of sitting in zazen is to become buddha. �134
Nangaku promptly fetches a tile and polishes it on a rock near Baso's
hut.
Baso, on seeing this, asks, �What is the master doing? �
Nangaku says, �Polishing a tile. �
Baso says, �What is the use of polishing a tile? �
Nangaku says, �I am polishing it into a mirror. �135
Baso says, �How can polishing a tile make it into a mirror? �136
Nangaku says, �How can sitting in zazen make you into a buddha? �137
[178] For several hundred years, since ancient times, most people inter-
preting this story�great matter that it is�have thought that Nangaku was
simply spurring Baso on. That is not necessarily so. The actions of great
saints far transcend the states of common folk. Without the Dharma of pol-
ishing a tile, how could the great saints have any expedient method of teach-
ing people? The power to teach people is the bones and marrow of a Buddhist
patriarch. Although [Nangaku] has devised it, this [teaching method] is a
common tool. [Teaching methods] other than common tools and everyday
utensils are not transmitted in the house of Buddha. Further, the impression
on Baso is immediate. Clearly, the virtue authentically transmitted by the
Buddhist patriarchs is directness. Clearly, in truth, when polishing a tile
becomes a mirror, Baso becomes buddha. When Baso becomes buddha, Baso
immediately becomes Baso. When Baso becomes Baso, zazen immediately
becomes zazen. This is why the making of mirrors through the polishing of
tiles has been dwelled in and retained in the bones and marrow of eternal
buddhas; and, this being so, the eternal mirror exists having been made from
a tile. While we have been polishing this mirror�in the past also�it has
never been tainted. Tiles are not dirty; we just polish a tile as a tile. In this
state, the virtue of making a mirror is realized, and this is just the effort of
Buddhist patriarchs. If polishing a tile does not make a mirror, polishing a
mirror cannot make a mirror either. 138 Who can suppose that in this �mak-
ing� there is [both] �becoming� buddha and �making� a mirror? 139 Further,
to express a doubt, is it possible, when polishing the eternal mirror, to mis-
takenly think that the polishing is making a tile? The real state at the time
of polishing is, at other times, beyond comprehension. Nevertheless, because
Nangaku's words must exactly express the expression of the truth, it may
be, in conclusion, simply that polishing a tile makes a mirror. People today
also should try taking up the tiles of the present and polishing them, and they
will certainly become mirrors. If tiles did not become mirrors, people could
not become buddhas. If we despise tiles as lumps of mud, then we might
also despise people as lumps of mud. If people have mind, tiles must also
have mind. Who can recognize that there are mirrors in which, [when] tiles
come, tiles appear? And who can recognize that there are mirrors in which,
[when] mirrors come, mirrors appear?
Shobogenzo Kokyo
Preached to the assembly at Kannondori ko-
shohorinji, on the ninth day of the ninth
lunar month in the second year of Ninji. 140
---
BDK English Tripitaka
Keyword
C/W Length Limit
Books
Tools
BDK English Tripitaka
A Biography of Sakyamuni
The Lotus Sutra (Second Revised Edition)
The Sutra of Queen Srimala of the Lion's Roar
The Larger Sutra on Amitayus
The Sutra on Contemplation of Amitayus
The Smaller Sutra on Amitayus
The Bequeathed Teaching Sutra
The Vimalakirti Sutra
The Ullambana Sutra
The Sutra of Forty-two Sections
The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment
The Vairocanabhisa? bodhi Sutra
The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch
The Baizhang Zen Monastic Regulations
Shobogenzo: The True Dharma-Eye Treasury vol. 1
Shobogenzo: The True Dharma-Eye Treasury vol. 2
Shobogenzo: The True Dharma-Eye Treasury vol. 3
Shobogenzo: The True Dharma-Eye Treasury vol. 4
Tannisho: Passages Deploring Deviations of Faith
Rennyo Shonin Ofumi: The Letters of Rennyo
The Sutra on the Profundity of Filial Love
Shobogenzo: The True Dharma-Eye Treasury vol. 1 (? ? ? ? (1))
Chapter/Section: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
B2582_1 (biblio info) Chapter/Section 21
[Chapter Twenty-one]
Kankin
Reading Sutras
Translator 's Note: Kan means �to read� and kin means �sutras. � Many
Buddhist sects revere reading sutras, because they think that the Buddhist
truth is theory which can be understood through abstract explanation. They
think that we can understand Buddhism only by reading sutras. At the same
time, there are other sects who deny the value of reading sutras; they say
that because Buddhist truth is not a theoretical system, we cannot attain the
truth by reading sutras. Master Dogen took the middle way on the problem:
rather than deny the value of reading sutras, he said that reading sutras is
one way of finding out what Buddhist practice is. He did not believe, how-
ever, that we can get the truth by reading sutras; he did not think that recit-
ing sutras might exercise some mystical in? uence over religious life.
